The present invention relates to an abnormality-handling instructing apparatus, and more particularly to an abnormality-handling instructing apparatus for a facsimile apparatus.
There have been proposed control systems for facsimile apparatuses and facsimile communication systems where errors in input operation and abnormalities of a reader and a recorder are detected to inform the occurrence of the abnormalities to the facsimile operator.
For example, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 1-170259 proposes a control system for a facsimile apparatus where a voice message is outputted to inform the occurrence of an abnormality to the facsimile operator if the apparatus fails to carry out a predetermined sequence of operations.
Meanwhile, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 62-31255 proposes a facsimile communication system where abnormality information in the form of a facsimile signal is sent to a transmitter side if an abnormality is detected at the receiver side.
The aforementioned prior art apparatuses suffer from the following drawbacks.
With a system where an abnormality is informed with a voice message, the operator is able to recognize the occurrence of an abnormality but does not know how he must handle the abnormality. Further, the provision of voice messages not only necessitates complex construction of the apparatus but also requires a large memory capacity for storing the messages. This leads to higher cost of the apparatus.
With a system where abnormality information is outputted in the form of a facsimile signal, if the signal is not being transmitted in the automatic mode but in the manual mode where the operator is carrying out the transmission procedure while monitoring the facsimile operation, the operator at the transmitter side cannot understand what the information means since it is in the form of a facsimile signal.
Thus, the manual transmission mode suffers from the problem that the operator is unable to properly handle the abnormality.